A signature in a book may seem like a few seconds of work, but – as evidenced by Bob Dylan’s recent use of an autopen – it’s a big endeavour when hundreds of books need to be signed.
Dylan has issued an apology after admitting using a machine to autograph 900 limited “hand-signed” editions of his book The Philosophy of Modern Song, which sold for $599 (£498) each. But he’s not the first person to make use of the technology. Autopens have been openly used by politicians for a number of years, with Barack Obama becoming the first US president to pass legislation with an autopen signature. They’ve not been without controversy, however; in 2004 then US defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld was criticised for using a mechanical signature to sign letters of condolence to relatives of soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Autopens seem to be less common when it comes to the literary world. This might not be too surprising given that signings often take place at live events such as festivals. There, books are signed in front of readers and sometimes personally dedicated, so there’s no way to use an autopen without everyone seeing. But even behind closed doors, many authors say they would never use an autopen, even when the number of books to be signed is in the thousands.
Author Juno Dawson says she “wouldn’t dream of using a robot pen because I feel they’d make the signed editions less special”. She adds: “People treasure signed copies because they’ve been personally signed by the author and it’s a bond of trust between me and my readers.”
Laura Bates, who once signed around 1,000 books in one go, is equally against the autopen, stating that “signing books is the absolute cherry on the top of the luckiest job in the world”. Instead, she uses “hot sugary tea” as signing fuel.
Janice Hallett, who recently signed 9,000 books over the course of six days, said callouses, blisters and paper-cuts were par for the course. But while using an autopen would save her from injuries, she wouldn’t because “nothing beats knowing readers can have a book that’s signed”.
Big signing sessions can require almost military preparation. Crime author Louise Candlish once signed 6,000 books in one day, which “involved a team of five people each doing different jobs” such as “opening the book to the title page, sliding the book towards me, taking the signed book and stacking” and so on. The endeavour was “exhausting” and Candlish burned through eight to 10 pens. She says she had to take regular breaks “to do hand exercises, stretching and squeezing and waggling”.
Dawson signed 5,000 copies of her novel Her Majesty’s Royal Coven in one day at the printers, but even more difficult was signing more than 10,000 end papers for her Fairyloot special edition. “They came to my flat in 17 huge boxes and I suddenly felt the magnitude of the task as I’d agreed to do them all over three weeks,” she says. “In the end it became a nine-to-five job. I set up a desk in front of the TV and binged on all three seasons of The Boys and much of The Crown, too. Due to bad posture I ended up with a spasm in my right shoulder which wasn’t ideal.”
Sometimes an author’s habits can influence their signing style. Sarah Vaughan spent a couple of days putting her name to 1,500 copies of her latest novel Reputation after her publisher sent her boxes of printed endpapers to sign, which were then added to the finished hardbacks of the novel. “Because I used shorthand for 15 years as a journalist, and still use it if I’m interviewing someone, my signature can get pretty illegible if I don’t concentrate, so I was conscious of needing of focus,” she says. “But your hand also aches if you sign too many on the trot and I found it impossible to do more than about 30 without taking a quick break. No ice packs – but much wiggling of fingers and wrist rotation. No one wants RSI.”
She believes it was worth the effort: “I know, as a customer, just how extra special a signed hardback feels. I have a signed Elizabeth Strout and very much wish I had a signed Hilary Mantel.”
One thing authors must consider when signing is exactly what name to sign, something that can have a dramatic effect on their workload. Candlish says that for her big signing she made the “fatal mistake” of deciding to write her whole name, Louise Candlish. Ever since then, she’s made sure to shorten it to L Candlish for larger signings.
There can be pitfalls at signings and some authors have learned a few useful tricks of the trade. Bates says she gets worried about making mistakes or misspelling names when signing. “So I always take a spare copy of my book with me to signing events because this allays my anxiety.”
It might irritate the wrist joints and induce a strange sense of mania in the signee, but when it comes to the autopen, Dylan seems to be a rarity. In fact you won’t hear too many authors complain about signing books. “Before I was successful, I had several books out that I only signed for family members and even then they were probably just being kind,” says Candlish. “It’s a joy to sign for thousands of readers. And as a reader, I love knowing the author has held the book before me.”
